This week, you need to decide whether your household's drinking water requires additional treatment to ensure safety and quality.
Belief: The water at my tap matches the public water system's source water qualities exactly.
The Lewiston Water & Sewer Division supplies surface water to over 23,000 people, including 9,300 connections in Lewiston, Androscoggin County. The public water system records show thorough treatment steps are in place (as indicated by treatment process codes 200|380|421|720|740). However, the lead 90th percentile measured is 0.0023 mg/L, which reflects lead levels encountered in plumbing distribution, not the raw source water. This means the water quality at your tap can differ from the public system’s source water due to household plumbing materials and condition.
Belief: Comparing Lewiston’s water data to that of a neighboring county tells me my water safety status precisely.
Comparisons across counties can be misleading because each water system and source have unique characteristics. Lewiston’s public water system uses surface water and has a documented health-based violation on record, which is specific to its treatment and distribution circumstances. Neighboring counties may use groundwater or different treatment methods, so their water system records reflect different conditions. Understanding this distinction prevents overreading or misinterpreting your water safety based on regional comparisons.
Belief: Leaving potential water quality issues untreated won’t impact my household in the long term.
Ignoring concerns about contaminants in tap water—even those measured within regulatory limits—may allow low-level constituents to accumulate or cause detectable changes in taste, staining, or plumbing corrosion. Over years, these aesthetic or plumbing-related effects can increase maintenance needs or cause inconvenience. The one health-based violation on record highlights that system improvements and monitoring remain important for long-term water quality assurance.
Belief: Any unusual taste, staining, or plumbing symptoms at home definitely indicate problems with water safety.
Household symptoms like discoloration or minor taste changes often reflect aesthetic secondary standards rather than safety issues. These symptoms do not definitively indicate unsafe water. To assess if a genuine safety concern exists, testing specific contaminants in your household water, including lead levels within your plumbing, is necessary.
Belief: The Lewiston public water system’s quality figures come from extensive, consistent sampling across many wells every year.
Lewiston’s water system serves a large population but relies on surface water, not multiple wells. The system’s recorded lead percentile is derived from distribution samples, not raw source sampling. The sample size for lead measurements is limited to certain points in the distribution system. This smaller sample scope means figures represent distributions within the system rather than comprehensive, high-frequency source water monitoring.
Belief: Water quality in Lewiston remains constant throughout the year and over multiple years.
The public water record includes recent data, such as lead results from December 31, 2023, but water quality can vary seasonally because source water quality and treatment conditions fluctuate. Multi-year records show Lewiston’s system maintains compliance aside from one health-based violation. These variations illustrate why continuous monitoring and household testing help determine your home's actual water conditions at any given time.
In summary, understanding Lewiston’s water system record helps clarify local water quality characteristics but does not replace testing your household water directly. The C-Series Safe Drinking Water Filter ships ready to configure and can address concerns highlighted by the system’s data to enhance drinking water safety at your tap.
Use the public water record to guide your questions, then verify your own water’s condition with direct testing and consider targeted treatment options like the C-Series system to improve your household’s drinking water quality.
Where this information comes from
Source: EPA SDWIS public water system record. Sampled 2023-12-31. These figures describe the public water system's record, not the plumbing inside any individual building.
On record: EPA SDWIS record for LEWISTON WATER & SEWER DIVISION (ME0090830), surface water supply, serving 23720 people: 1 health-based violations of 1 total; lead 90th percentile 0.0023 mg/L